THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) is calling on the Department of Education (DepEd) to include road safety advocacy in the high school curriculum.
In a recent average survey LTO received, 27 persons die in road crashes every day.
LTO-Davao director Gomer Dy said the agency wants to reduce the number of road accidents, where some cases involve children.
Recently, the agency re-launched its Road Safety Advocacy forums in the country wherein elementary and high school students were tapped to participate in the discussion.
Dy, however, said these forums are limited and he said having an institutionalized curriculum would further widen its campaign in lessening casualties brought about by reckless drivers.
“Mao ni atong hangyo sa Deped nga i-include sa curiculum. Dako ni siyang tabang (This is why we are asking the Deped to formally include it in the curriculum. It would mean a lot in our campaign),” he said.
Aside from the simple reminders while on the road, and recognizing traffic signs, he said education imparted to students would also be shared to their parents.
Meanwhile, Dy said phasing out vehicles would depend on its road-worthiness.
He said LTO is not considering setting age limit policy on vehicles, unlike in the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) that jeepneys and other transport vehicles exceeding 15 years will no longer be renewed.
“Ato basehan is dili kung pila ang edad kung dili roadworthy ba siya. Kung roadworthy pa upon inspection (Our basis for the vehicle’s roadworthiness is based on our inspection. The vehicle’s age is not a direct basis),” he said.
DepEd and LTO in Region V has an integration partnership program namely Students Today, Road Users of Tomorrow or Strut Project, that started in 2017.
Strut is a road safety advocacy program that aims to strengthen the advocacy in raising road safety awareness to students to lower cases of road accidents.
Senator Grace Poe, meanwhile, filed Senate Bill Number 1231, an act integrating basic road safety and comprehensive driver’s education in the K to 12 program. The bill is still pending in Senate.
Also, Davao City Councilor Mabel Sunga Acosta is also pushing for an ordinance that would mandate schools to teach traffic rules and road safety regulations to elementary students. (RGL)